FINDING YOUR "WHY"

By Carmel David

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"Never Go Backward-Persevere, And Do It With All Your Might! Determination Is Your Very Own Super Power."

People often ask me “why did you start your own business”?

I have many reasons but the one that springs to mind is the overwhelming desire to help people and make a difference to each and every one of my clients. I am also passionate about supporting other woman, especially mums, to create the freedom lifestyle which I now love & enjoy.

Freedom can mean many different things to many different people. Having spent many years juggling a full-time job, being a Mum to 3 children and running my own Virtual Assistant (VA) business part-time, I understand what it is like to live life on a treadmill. I was working my life away with long hours and very little satisfaction. Dreading Mondays, counting down to the weekends & only getting to take 2 whole weeks off in the summer providing it didn’t clash with anyone else’s plans - these were all common experience & this was not how I wanted my life to be any longer.

I made a decision in late 2014 that enough was enough. I wanted and needed to change my life. It struck me (like most other working parents) how quickly our children grow up.

By then, mine were 16, 14 & 11 and spending more time with them became “My big why”. I missed out on many milestones in my children's lives because I couldn't get the time off work & I quickly realized I was building someone else's dream and not my own.

I took the scary big leap and handed in my notice to my employer & in January 2015 I was officially an entrepreneur. Had I a clear plan in place back then? Absolutely not and if I'm being completely honest, I winged it for the first few years. I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, but I had determination, I had passion & a massive drive to help others with the skills I'd mastered over the years.

This story I’m about to share with you is why I’m so passionate about helping other women to believe in themselves. I truly believe they have the strength and courage to build and grow their own successful business from the comfort of their own homes - just like I did.

I left school at 17 without any qualifications. It was the summer before I was due to take my Leaving Cert. I had convinced my parents I wanted to be a hairdresser & beautician. From a very early age that is all I ever wanted to do. To be truthful, I wasn't very good at school, so it was a win-win for all. Not long after starting my course, I became pregnant with my first child who we welcomed into this world when I was only 18. I then had my second at 20 & my 3rd at 23.

Living in rural Ireland in the late 90s & having a child at 18 wasn’t the done thing. My parents were told that I would never amount to much, my life was over and that ‘she’s ruined everything’. Those words stayed with me, they were ingrained in me and I could see the pain in my parent's faces when people judged me, but I decided, rather than prove those people right, I would use those words as my driving force.

In the early part of starting my business, those words came to my mind again & again. I used to think, “why did you start this business”, “they told you it would never work”, “Just go back to the 9-5 daily grind where you will get your wage at the end of each week like everyone else” but then I’d reflect back to how unhappy I was & how I was now a role model to our three children & I never wanted to be a quitter in their eyes.

I wanted to inspire them, allow them to believe that you don’t have to follow the pack, that if you’re not that good at school, it's not the end of the world. There are always other options if you have a dream and a desire to work hard.

You need to take action and make a difference whether that’s to your own life or to someone’s else, JUST DO IT & don’t let anyone stand in your way.

This is why today, I help women to set up their own virtual businesses so they can live the life they desire, to be the decision-makers in their own lives & businesses rather than feeling unfulfilled in a 9-5 job like I was.

I want to share with you some knowledge I discovered whilst building my home-based virtual assistant business

from scratch.

1. Start small & build as you go. To start a virtual assistant business, you do NOT need to spend hundreds or even thousands on top of the range equipment, software, and fancy gadgets. I started with a big old box of a computer and dial-up Wi-Fi (yes it wasn’t ideal, but it didn’t stop me). All you need is a laptop or PC, good Wi-Fi, together with skills that you have learned over the years, i.e, secretarial, bookkeeping, marketing, design, diary management. The list is endless and there are many opportunities in the online world.

2. You MUST have the ability to roll up your sleeves and just figure it out. If you don’t have the answer, Google it. We live in the age of technology, if you don’t know how to do something, you can be sure Google has the answer.

3. If you have a job, build your business on the side and only when your business is consistently matching the income of your job should you make the big leap to go self-employed.

4. Set yourself goals, no matter how big they are, then break them down into smaller steps, action them and SET A DATE. I’m sure you have heard the saying “A Goal without a date is just a dream”.

5. Get yourself a mentor, someone who has walked the walk rather than talked the talk - someone who has what you desire. Learn from them and put your own twist on it.

6. Surround yourself with like-minded people. These people will support you and they are a useful sounding board. There is no better feeling than knowing you have the support of others, people who are on this same journey as you. Many people will tell you that it won’t work, you’re crazy etc. Use that as your driving force, like I did and see how far you can go.

7. Look after YOU, Look after your TIME. Running a business is tough, running a business from home is a learning experience but it has so many benefits. Working around your family, zero commuting for hours on end and if you have children, you get the pleasure of dropping them to school and being there to welcome them home. The freedom to decide when you work, where you work and who you work for are all huge bonuses.

8. Setting boundaries within your business is very important. You will have to be strict with family, friends & clients otherwise, you will feel overwhelmed, overworked & overcommitted & that's when things can get hard. When you work from home, sometimes friends or family don’t always understand that you can’t just stop for a chat & a coffee, you have client commitments that are a priority.

Be clear with them on your working hours and ask them not to disturb you (unless it’s an emergency).

9. KNOW your worth and charge accordingly. What you have to offer to your clients and potential prospects is TIME - If they are not operating in their zone of genius daily then they are wasting valuable time. When they hire you as their VA, you are taking those tasks off their plate & giving them back their time to focus on what they love to do, that is invaluable & so are you.

10. And finally, BELIEVE & TRUST in you, you’ve got this. When you feel that it's getting hard or you just don’t know what to do or how to do something, REACH out.

Reach out to me, reach out to someone in the industry, reach out to your support network, listen to podcasts, read books but please don’t give up at the first hurdle or even the 10th, you will come across many obstacles but they are sent to us so we can learn & grow from them. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

We are a unique breed & when we get it right, it’s ever so rewarding.

About me

I have been in the VA / online industry for over 12 years and have made incredible changes to my life as a result. I have impacted many businesses during this time allowing my clients to create their desired lifestyle and focus on their business growth. I built my own online business from scratch & now I have an ideal working environment where I can work from wherever I choose, whether that be my home office or a location around the world.

I’m the owner and leader behind the business that is Carmel David, offering Online Business Management services to business owners around the globe. I work with many different types of businesses from start-ups to multi 6 & 7 figures entrepreneurs. I am proud to say, that I still work with some of the same businesses who supported me from day one. I am also a Virtual Assistant Business Mentor and I love to inspire & support others to build and grow their own online business just like I have.

I’m married to Andy & we currently live in County Leitrim with our 3 children, Chelsi, Jayd & Baily.